(New York, 9 August 2012): The United Nations top humanitarian official, Valerie Amos, has allocated US$55 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to bolster humanitarian operations in eight countries with neglected humanitarian emergencies.

Allocations for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Sudan bring the total amount provided by CERF for underfunded emergencies this year to more than $158 million. Thirteen countries were given nearly $104 million in the first 2012 underfunded round in January.

“These CERF grants provide critical funding. The money will save lives by helping aid agencies reach people in desperate need. I hope this funding will also serve to draw attention to their situation, as millions more people are still in need,” said Valerie Amos.

Agencies working in the Republic of Sudan will receive $14 million to ensure that food, health, water and other help reaches displaced people and host communities, particularly in Darfur. Some $12 million will be given to the aid community in Democratic Republic of Congo to address increasing nutrition and health needs. In Afghanistan, agencies will receive $10 million to be spent on the most vulnerable. Humanitarian partners in Ethiopia will receive $10 million to address a worsening food crisis and provide assistance to refugees. Full details of countries and allocations in this round can be found on the CERF website http://cerf.un.org.

A third of all CERF funds are earmarked each year for underfunded emergencies to help improve the balance of global humanitarian aid distribution. Since 2006, nearly a third of the $2.6 billion allocated from CERF has gone to neglected crises in more than 40 countries.

CERF is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, NGOs, regional governments, the private sector and individual donors. Donors have pledged more than $380 million in support of the Fund in 2012, bringing the total amount contributed to CERF since March 2006 to more than $2.8 billion.